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GPS To GIS

Using GPS in the educational curriculum is an excellent way to introduce interdisciplinary topics with students, incorporate meaningful field experiences, make effective use of technology, provide employment skills, and illustrate the importance of precision, coordinate systems, relative versus absolute location, and to map local and regional phenomena, such as trees, historical housing, bird nests, and other features.  GPS activities may be greatly enhanced by importing these coordinates and field-collected data into a GIS (Geographic Information System).  This document describes ways to bring GPS coordinates into a GIS. 

There are 2 main methods to bring your GPS coordinates into a GIS, such as ArcView GIS by ESRI:  

1.  Collect points, write them down, and manually enter into a Notepad file via a text editor or into Excel.

2.  Collect points, store inside GPS unit, and with cable, upload the points into the computer, into either a DBF or a TXT file, or even as a GIS-ready file (such as a Shapefile (SHP)).

Method 1:  Text Editor

Collect points and attributes. In text editor, line 1 should be the header line, such as "lat, long, pH, groundcover, O2, etc".  Line 2 begins your data, separated by commas, such as "site1, 39.7022, -107.4832, 5.7, grassland, 38"  Save as Text such as "gps.txt".  

Access ArcView 3: Tables-->Add, Add your table gps.txt  as comma-delimited TXT.  View.   Add event theme.  Bring in your table as a point theme. 

Access ArcGIS 9: Tools--> Add XY coordinates. Add your table gps.txt as text file. Bring in your table as a point layer. 

Click on layer to make visible.  Change legend to make graduated symbol map based on attributes you collected.

Method 1:  Spreadsheet

Collect points and attributes. In Excel,  row 1 should be the header line, such as "lat, long, pH, groundcover, O2, etc".  Row 2 begins your data, such as "site1, 39.70224, -107.48372, 5.7, grassland, 38"  Make sure you format the latitude and longitude columns as numbers with at least 6 decimal places. Save as DBF such as "gps.dbf".

Access ArcView 3: Tables--> Add, Add your table gps.dbf as Dbase file.  View --> Add event theme.  Bring in your table as a point theme. 

Access ArcGIS 9: Tools--> Add XY coordinates. Add your table gps.dbf as Dbase file. Bring in your table as a point layer. 

Click on layer to make visible.  Change legend to make graduated symbol map based on attributes you collected.

Method 2:  Upload Coordinates from GPS

Collect points, store inside GPS unit, upload via cable into computer.  This method varies depending on the type of GPS hardware you own.  The following procedures work with Garmin receivers. Use other software with other GPS receivers.

Why use method 2 versus manually collecting points and and entering them into a text file?  

To (1) reduce error in transcription and recording; 

and 

(2) to expedite the process, particularly if you students are collecting many points.   

1.    Clear previous waypoints on GPS unit.  Make sure interface says Garmin to Garmin.

2.    Use mark and save on GPS unit at each new point collected.

3.    Download and run the Garmin tool from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources:

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mis/gis/tools/arcview/extensions/DNRGarmin/DNRGarmin.html

4. Use serial or USB cable to connect your GPS unit to your computer. Turn on your GPS unit.

5.  Run MN DNR Garmin extension.  

Waypoints: Download.

Tracks: Download.

Output shape file:  Point (could use line or poly, too).

Using ArcGIS?

Try the GPSi in ArcGIS.   Download it from:   http://arcscripts.esri.com/details.asp?dbid=12749

GPSi (GPS Interface) is an ArcMap Toolbar that allows users to communicate with Garmin * handheld GPS units. It was developed to allow users to rapidly download/upload data directly from ArcMap. The software uses the Garmin protocol to communicate with the GPS unit and will not function with other GPS brands.

Additional Notes

I collected in NAD 27 and placed the points on top of a USGS DRG in NAD 27.  Why were the points all shifted to the west of where they should be?  I thought initially that I was wrong about the datum of the DRGs I was using, but most of the DRGs are indeed in NAD 27 unless they’re from Terraserver. 

Here is what apparently caused it:  In the Waypoint software itself, there is a setting where the user must explicitly choose NAD 27.  If you don't  select this, it apparently shifts the coordinates to NAD 83, even though those I was training collected in NAD 27 on the GPS unit!  So, make sure you check this if you're automatically uploading using WayPoint in the future.  When I did this, the points plotted right where they were supposed to.

Also – There IS a setting in Waypoint that allows the points to be brought in as UTM, rather than importing them in as Lat-Long.  This will allow you to view the points table (or lines or polygons if you choose to bring them in as such) as UTM, negating the need to change the view properties to UTM in ArcView.

Either collect in latitude/longitude or UTM.  If lat/long, and if you use a USGS DRG or DOQ, you must change the VIEW properties in order to view these correctly on top of the base layers.   If you collect in UTM, no view properties setting is required.  

Base Map Images

For base map images of USGS topographic maps and aerial photographs to place behind your GPS collected coordinates in a GIS.  See complete procedures, as well as new ESRI Terraserver tool, on:  

http://education.usgs.gov/common/lessons/terraserver.html

(1)  Visit    www.terraserver-usa.com.    Type in a specific place and press “Go.”

(2).  First, select a TOPOGRAPHIC MAP of the area you are interested in.  Continue zooming and panning until the area you want is in the view.   Make the image size LARGE using the button above the map.  You can zoom in until the zoom factor is 2 meters.

(3).  Select DOWNLOAD in the upper right hand corner of the image.  Click on the FREE DOWNLOAD arrow to redraw the image.

(4)   After the image has redrawn, right-click on the image and SAVE AS  <filename_drg>.jpg

For example, oakcliff_drg.jpg

(5)  Click on the WORLD FILE link to open the registration file for the image in the browser window.

Go to FILE  —> SAVE AS   <filename>.jgw       For example, oakcliff_drg.jgw

Be sure to save this as a TEXT file, not HTML.   Also, it must have the same base name as your JPG file, above.

(6).  Go back to the browser window where your topographic map is (before you downloaded it).  Click on IMAGE to see a DOQ of that same area.   (Note—92% of the country has images on Terraserver at present).   The procedures for the DOQ are similar to that for the DRGs that you followed above.  Make sure the image is LARGE.

(7).  Select DOWNLOAD in the upper right hand corner of the image.  You will see a screen similar to that below.  Click on the FREE DOWNLOAD arrow to redraw the image.

(8).  After the image has redrawn, right-click on the image and SAVE AS  <filename_doq>.jpg

For example, oakcliff_doq.jpg. 

(9)  Click on the WORLD FILE link to open the registration file for the image in the browser window.  Go to FILE  —> SAVE AS   <filename>.jgw.    Be sure to save this as a TEXT file, not HTML.

For example, oakcliff_doq.jgw   Also, it must have the same base name as your JPG file, above.

(10).  In ArcView, turn on the JPG reader extension and add your images as IMAGE THEMES.

Even easier is to use the ESRI Terraserver tool, described on: http://education.usgs.gov/common/lessons/terraserver.html